LONDON, August 9. /TASS/. Police have begun detentions at a rally in support of the pro-Palestinian movement Palestine Action. According to a TASS correspondent, hundreds of supporters gathered at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster, protesting against its ban.

Activists with slogans "I Am Against Genocide, I Support Palestine Action" staged a sit-in protest. Police officers gradually detain people from the crowd and take them to the police cars on duty nearby. The number of detainees already stands at dozens of demonstrators, including people of the retirement age.

Many of the demonstrators came with Palestinian flags and banners saying "Stop Genocide Now," "Stop Starving Gaza," and "Stop Supplying Weapons to Israel." They shout slogans like "Freedom for Palestine," and the arrests are met with shouts of "Shame" against the police. At the same time, thousands of people are holding a rally in solidarity with Palestine near the residence of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

On July 5, the Palestine Action movement was added to the list of banned organizations in the UK at the suggestion of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Her initiative was supported by both houses of Parliament. Membership in this organization, participation in its meetings, and any form of support for its activities have become a criminal offense with a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

On June 20, Palestine Action activists damaged two Voyager tanker aircraft of the British Air Force at the Brize Norton airbase in Oxfordshire in southern England. The movement explained its actions by saying that London is "a participant in the genocide in Gaza and war crimes in the Middle East," as it "continues to send military supplies, use reconnaissance aircraft over the enclave and refuel American or Israeli fighter jets."

Since the ban on movement, more than 100 people have been detained at support protests. This week the first three protesters, including two pensioners, were charged with violating the law on combating terrorism. Palestine Action activists said that they would not stop the protests, as they intend to overload the judicial system of the United Kingdom, forcing the authorities to lift the ban.